With the advent of digital micromirror devices (DMD devices) such as digital light processors (DLPs) there has been a desire to integrate the digital projection technology into cinematic theatres for viewing by the public at large. However, as of yet, DMDs (and DLPs in particular) have not yet progressed in native resolution capability so as to allow an acceptable image for large venues which complies with industry standards for display quality. Particularly, the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) promulgates such standards which are well respected by the various members of the motion picture industry. One such standard applies to the display of a all of a Digital Cinema Distribution Masters (DCDMs) (digital packages which contains all of the sound, picture, and data elements needed for a show) in review rooms and theatres. A requirement of the SMPTE standard is that the pixel count of the projected image must be at least 2048×1080 (2K×1K). The standard further requires that the mesh of pixels (the device structure) must be invisible/imperceptible when viewed from a reference viewing distance. While many DMD/DLP projectors meet the minimum requirement regarding resolution, those same projectors cannot meet the second requirement of the standard since the proper reference viewing distance is small enough to cause visibility of the mesh of pixels. Therefore, current DMD/DLP projectors having 2K×1K resolution are not suitable for most commercial theatres where the viewing distance is small and where to prevent the appearance of the pixel mesh from an appropriate viewing distance, a DMD/DLP projector must have a resolution of about 4K×2K (which is not currently commercially available).
It is therefore desirable to develop an improved DMD/DLP projection system.